"I want to be long and leggy and beautiful, and I want boys to love me." She prays with her eyes closed and her heart heavy. So young, so hungry. But not for the food in front of her--not the bisque nor the colcannon nor the bread. No, her hopes rest on a greater feast, and patience sates her stomach for now. "One day," she thinks, "I'll be older and life will be better." She cannot yet imagine the bittersweet complexity of growing up. Her father says, "Amen," and her mother says, "Drink the soup." Still innocent, the girl smiles and does what she is told.
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